The subject matter herein relates generally to circuit board connectors, and more particularly to straddle mount connectors that are mounted to an edge of a circuit board.
One type of electrical connector used in today's electronic equipment is termed a “straddle mount connector” or “board edge connector”. The electrical connector is provided for receiving a circuit board having a mating edge and a plurality of contact pads or conductors exposed adjacent the mating edge of the board. Typically, the electrical connector includes contacts having cantilevered spring arms which are biased against the contact pads on the circuit board. The contacts are soldered to the contact pads after the electrical connector is mounted to the circuit board. In some applications, the electrical connector and the attached circuit board form a sub-assembly for a further device. One such use for the electrical connector is in the assembly of making memory cards or other electronic devices.
Known electrical connectors are not without disadvantages. For instance, there is a trend to decrease the contact spacing, or pitch, between the contacts and contact pads in order to increase the density of the electrical connector and reduce the amount of space the electrical connector requires on the circuit board. As the space between contacts decreases, there is an increased risk of bridging between adjacent contact pads on the circuit board on which the electrical connector is mounted. For example, as the electrical connector is mounted to the mating edge of the circuit board, the contacts plow through solder paste on the contact pads which causes the solder paste to spill over outside of the footprint of the contact pad. If the pitch is small enough, the solder paste of adjacent contact pads may become electrically connected creating an electrical short therebetween.